What is MI6, how do I get a job there and how much money do spies earn?

MI6 is preparing for a massive recruitment drive which could see it grow in size by around 40 per cent in four years.

In September the agency began preparing to recruit as many as 1,000 spies – swelling its ranks from 2,500 to 3,500 – to combat increased threats from terrorism.

The new personnel are expected to be brought in to focus on the changing nature of dangers facing UK security, such as cyber attacks and propaganda from hostile states.

The news was made public by the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which announced a total of 1,900 extra staff would be recruited to the intelligence services.

The exact distribution of the new spies was not revealed, but MI6 is expected to get the lion’s share.

You certainly don't have to be a swashbuckling James Bond-esque figure to join the security services – indeed, GCHQ is looking to recruit social media-savvy teen girls to become Britain's spies of tomorrow.

Here, we tell you what we know about the secretive agency and its recruitment process:

What is MI6?

MI6 is the intelligence agency which supplies the Government with foreign intelligence (as opposed to MI5 which deals with domestic security threats).

Its existence was not formally acknowledged until 1994. It is regarded as one of the best spy agencies in the world.

Describing its work on its official website, the agency says: “Our mission is to provide Her Majesty's Government with a global covert capability.

“We collect secret intelligence and mount operations overseas to prevent and detect serious crime, and promote and defend the national security and economic wellbeing of the United Kingdom.”

How does MI6 recruit?

To find out what jobs are on offer at MI6 – now known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) – simply log on to their website.

The agency says: “All candidates need to start their application through our website and from within the UK.”

There are several types of roles to choose from, depending on your skill set.

Applicants can apply to roles ranging from language specialists, to tech experts or security guards to watch over the iconic and fortress-like SIS Building on the banks of the Thames.

You can even apply to become an intelligence officer – collecting and analysing intel, or recruiting and developing agents in the field.

But be warned – the application process is long and gruelling.

Applicants are told they will face an exhaustive six month selection process, during which they will be constantly assessed.

Candidates will be thoroughly security vetted, assessed medically and repeatedly tested and interviewed to narrow the field down to the very best.

On May 24 MI6 aired its first ever TV ad, aiming to banish macho James Bond-style imagery and attract more women and ethnic-minority recruits.

The TV spot shows a shark gliding through an aquarium, watched by a child who backs away nervously before being comforted by his mother.

A voiceover says that, as an intelligence officer, "it is not keeping your cool in the shark tank, it is picking up the silent cues that matter."

It ends: "MI6: Secretly we are just like you."

While the top echelons of the spy agency is hardly diverse, for obvious reasons it has long employed people who don't necessary fit the stereotype of an agent so they can blend in and gather intelligence without being rumbled.

How much do MI6 spies get paid?

It has not been announced exactly what roles the agency will be recruiting for over the next four years, and the precise pay for each role varies massively.

Relatively junior intelligence analyst roles are reported to start at around £25,000, rising to about £40,000 after a decade of service.

Tech expert jobs have been advertised with pay between £30,000 and £55,000.

And the present head of MI6 – chief of the Secret Intelligence Service Alex Younger – is reported to be paid north of £160,000.

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